Health & Safety

It is the last day of November. For many, this is payday, for others it is invoicing day and for some…. It is the official start of the festive season.

Over the years we have seen some pretty fantastic Christmas parties. We have also seen some lovely intimate low key affairs where the team come together and celebrate the past year and its successes.

While you are not operating a school, all employers have a legal responsibility and duty of care towards their staff and that is not just Monday – Friday 9 – 5, but includes work functions such as the Christmas party. While you may not want to organise the ‘personal’ life of your employees and may believe that they are all grown up enough to look after themselves, if an accident or incident happens and the employer has not taken due care, the employer can become liable. Ensure that you have considered and talked about all of the relevant issues with your staff before the party and they know what they are responsible for and what failure to comply might mean.

Here are some top tips for making sure your work Christmas party is one to remember rather than one you wish to forget:

Make sure everyone is invited and made to feel welcome

remember not everyone celebrates Christmas, so how can you make it more inclusive?

Think carefully about whether partners are invited and if so, who pays for them?

Be mindful about your venue

Is it easy to get to / return from on public transport?

Can people stay over if they chose to?

Is there ample parking for those who prefer to drive?

If your team is widely spread, is it accessible to everyone and will expenses be paid to those who don’t live locally who wish to attend?

Menu planning – LONG gone are the days where everyone will sit down to eat a traditional Christmas Dinner

Make sure you understand what your staff can and can not eat, from both a dietary and religious perspective.

Is there a vegetarian/vegan option?

Is there a free from option?

Are the Canapes clearly marked

Are the caterers and their staff carefully briefed – nut allergies are life-threatening and the impact of a careless caterer is not to be underestimated.

Alcohol planning – I am not going to try to tell you that your event needs to be alcohol-free as that would just be Humbug at this time of year! However, there are some considerations

What is a reasonable amount of alcohol per person?

Who is paying for it?

Are people allowed to buy more for themselves once the ‘paid for’ bar has been used

Is anyone going to stop people drinking if and when they think they have had too much

How are people getting home?

Are cabs booked in advance to take people home or is a local cab company on standby with sufficient cars?

Is a coach being arranged to drop people at a central point and if so, what happens from there?

Will someone be responsible for ensuring that no one is driving either their own or a company vehicle while under the influence of alcohol

Are staff (and management) expected at work the next day – not every party can be on a Friday night and not every business is shut at the weekend

This is a case of one rule for all. No discrimination based on length of service or seniority in the business. If your business is open the next day, your staff need to be there in a fit state to work just like on any other day

If staff do not turn up – what is the impact?

If staff turn up too tired or unwell – what is the impact?

Will you allow people to book the ‘day after the night before’ off as a holiday and what is the impact on your business?

Will normal holiday booking procedures apply?

Managing the fallout – while we sincerely hope there is no fall out from your work Christmas party, many years of experience tells us otherwise. So what do you need to consider in managing the fallout?

Treating everyone equally and fairly

Following and complying with your own policies and procedures

Health and safety implications for employees, clients and other third parties

Financial damage

Reputational damage

I don’t mean to scare you, and many employers believe it will never happen to them, but it

can and it does. With over 25 years in HR and Management and as head of an HR practice for over 11 years, I never cease to be amazed by what I see and hear, especially around Christmas. I think I have seen it all and then something else happens and as HR, we often end up trying to pick up the pieces and keep our clients (the Businesses) out of trouble, helping them to make their workplace a better place to be.

As with all aspects of business life, Proper Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance. Plan your Christmas party, get advice if you need it but have an amazing festive celebration that ALL your staff remember for the RIGHT reasons which keeps them engaged in 2019.

With the best will in the world, I do sometimes sense that some of my clients find the requirements of health & safety signage a bit unnecessary at times. Is it really necessary to display a “fire exit” sign above the only way out of the building? Is it really necessary to display “fire route” signage pointing people down stairs (rather than up)?… and is it really necessary to display a “no smoking” sign, stating “it is against the law to smoke in these premises” at every entrance to the building?

Well, the good news is that in line with the government’s desire to reduce the burden on small business of excessive health & safety demands, some of the signage requirements have now been relaxed, and a more common-sense approach will now satisfy legal requirements.

A new set of Regulations have been published called The Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2012, which have replaced the Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007. The major change in the new Regulations is that it is now no longer necessary to display a no-smoking sign of a specific size, shape and content at each entrance to the smoke-free premises. It is now only necessary to display at least one legible no-smoking sign within smoke-free premises, of any size, shape or content.

As far as fire exit and fire route signage is concerned, this has to comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996. These Regulations are specific in requiring pictogram signage of certain shape, size and colour. The location of these signs should be determined within the fire risk assessment for your premises, which should be carried out by a competent person.

If a building is very small with a very simple layout, then a reasonable fire risk assessor should take this into account, apply common sense and not require fire exit or fire route signage to be displayed. If however, there could potentially be any uncertainty as to the best way out of a building during a fire evacuation, then conforming signage should be displayed.

If your premises is in need of a fire risk assessment to be carried out by a competent risk assessor, applying common sense, please visit clearworld.co.uk. For a 10% discount, please mention DOHR at the time of booking.